War Prevents Inspection of Two Syrian Chemical Sites

Two of Syria's chemical weapons sites have not been inspected by international experts due to security concerns.

By Ari Yashar

First Publish: 10/28/2013, 10:03 PM

Chemical weapons experts in Syria

Reuters

Two of the listed 23 chemical weapons sites in Syria have yet to be inspected by the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW). As a result, one of the first in a series of deadlines in the planned destruction of Syria's chemical weapons by mid-2014 has been missed.

The OPCW's statement noted that "efforts to ensure the conditions necessary for safe access to those sites will continue." Previously the group has called for local, short-term truces to enable their inspection of the war-torn country's chemical weapon stockpiles.

It is yet to be verified which side of the conflict is responsible for the security concerns preventing the inspection.

The Syrian government submitted a plan to destroy its chemical arsenal on Sunday, three days ahead of the October 27 deadline set by UN Security Council resolution 2118. That resolution further calls for Syria's chemical weapons production equipment to be destroyed by November 1.

OPCW's mission in Syria came on the heels of international outrage over a chemical weapons attack on August 21. Rockets filled with the nerve agent sarin were fired at suburbs of the capital, Damascus, killing hundreds of people.

Since October 1 sixty inspectors from the OPCW and UN have entered Syria to conduct their mission.